The Dire King

The Dire King wraps up the Jackaby series nicely, but overall I feel like it was mostly underwhelming. The first two books of this series had almost no hint of a ‘bigger baddie' hiding in them, but then once we get to the third and fourth book, that's all they're about. I definitely found myself missing the ‘monster of the week' set up that the first two entries in this series followed. I would have happily read 10 more books with Abigail and Jackaby, if they were the ‘monster of the week' sort.

Maybe it's just me, but I felt that the Dire King's plan was never very clear. It was vague, and not in a good way – what exactly was he planning to do with the sword, the shield and the crown? What did he want? Why did he want that? These questions are answered, very quickly and without much fanfare almost 80% of the way through the book.

The big reveals at the end of The Dire King happen basically one, two, three right in a row and you don't get any real chance to savor them. Ultimately, I think I'm disappointed with how this series ended. It had real potential, but didn't rise to it at all.

2.5

I don't know why but I just wasn't into this book as much as I was the other three... it felt like a big let down. It might have just been my mood though. I know this is a series I will want to read again in the future. I also really liked the ending– although it had me scared there for a minute (or 5)!

It is no secret that I have a slight obsession with Sherlock Holmes retellings. There is just something about the Sherlock character and reading other people's takes on the iconic character that absolutely thrills me. William Ritter has taken a paranormal twist on the iconic characters plus maintaining a 19th century setting. Since this is the four and final book in the series I do not want to get into specifics in this review.

However, I want to reiterate how much I love this series and these characters. Jackaby is witty and always thinking and planning. Abigail is the pragmatic side kick who can always be counted on to ensure we are following the story and Jackaby. Then you have all the side characters like Charlie, Douglas, and Jenny. I really loved how in this series each book focused on one character and figuring them out. We had Abigail's personal growth, Jenny's story, and we also learn more about Jackaby.

This final book was incredibly well written and I'm sad the story is over. I would love to get more from these characters and see what they continue to get up to in the future. I also wanted a green Douglas cover! I cannot wait to see what William Ritter comes up with next and will definitely pick up other books he writes!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of the book